La Cosa Nostra "TRUMP, THE DEALS AND THE DOWNFALL" by WAYNE BARRETT La Cosa Nostra La Cosa Nostra, translated into English means ï¿½this thing of ours.ï¿½ It is a nationwide alliance of criminals ï¿½ linked by blood ties or through conspiracy ï¿½ dedicated to pursuing crime and protecting its members. La Cosa Nostra, or the LCN as it is known by the FBI, consists of different ï¿½familiesï¿½ or groups that are generally arranged geographically and engaged in significant and organized racketeering activity. It is also known as the Mafia, a term also used to describe other organized crime groups. The LCN is most active in the New York metropolitan area, parts of New Jersey, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, and New England. It has members in other major cities and is involved in international crimes. Over the years, FBI investigations have revealed how organized criminal groups have proliferated and impacted much of the world. Partnerships with foreign law enforcement agencies are essential to combat global organized crime groups. Among the partnerships the FBI is involved with is the Italian American Working Group, which meets every year.

The group addresses organized crime, cyber crime, money laundering, international terrorism, illegal immigration, cooperating witnesses, drug smuggling, art theft, extradition matters, and cigarette smuggling. The US and Italy take turns hosting the meetings. Since their appearance in the 1800s, the Italian criminal societies known as the Mafia have infiltrated the social and economic fabric of Italy and now impact the world. They are some of the most notorious and widespread of all criminal societies. There are several groups currently active in the U.S.: the Sicilian Mafia; the Camorra or Neapolitan Mafia; the ï¿½Ndrangheta or Calabrian Mafia; and the Sacra Corona Unita or United Sacred Crown. The FBI estimated the four groups had approximately 25,000 members total, with 250,000 affiliates worldwide. There were more than 3,000 members and affiliates in the US, scattered mostly throughout the major cities in the Northeast, the Midwest, California, and the South. Their largest presence centers around New York, southern New Jersey, and Philadelphia. Their criminal activities are international with members and affiliates in Canada, South America, Australia, and parts of Europe.

They are also known to collaborate with other international organized crime groups from all over the world, especially in drug trafficking. The major threats to American society posed by these groups are drug trafficking and money laundering. They have been involved in heroin trafficking for decades. Two major investigations that targeted Italian organized crime drug trafficking in the 1980s are known as the ï¿½French Connectionï¿½ and the ï¿½Pizza Connection.ï¿½ These groups donï¿½t limit themselves to drug running, though. Theyï¿½re also involved in illegal gambling, political corruption, extortion, kidnapping, fraud, counterfeiting, infiltration of legitimate businesses, murders, bombings, and weapons trafficking. History of La Cosa Nostra Although La Cosa Nostra has its roots in Italian organized crime, it has been a separate organization for many years. Today, La Cosa Nostra cooperates in various criminal activities with different criminal groups that are headquartered in Italy. Giuseppe Esposito was the first known Sicilian Mafia member to emigrate to the U.S. He and six other Sicilians fled to New York after murdering the chancellor and a vice chancellor of a Sicilian province and 11 wealthy landowners.

He was arrested in New Orleans in 1881 and extradited to Italy. New Orleans was also the site of the first major Mafia incident in this country. On October 15, 1890, New Orleans Police Superintendent David Hennessey was murdered execution-style. Hundreds of Sicilians were arrested, and 19 were eventually indicted for the murder. An acquittal generated rumors of widespread bribery and intimidated witnesses. Outraged citizens of New Orleans organized a lynch mob and killed 11 of the 19 defendants. Two were hanged, nine were shot, and the remaining eight escaped. The American Mafia has evolved over the years as various gangs assumedï¿½and lostï¿½dominance over the years: the Black Hand gangs around 1900; the Five Points Gang in the 1910s and ï¿½20s in New York City; Al Caponeï¿½s Syndicate in Chicago in the 1920s. By the end of the ï¿½20s, two primary factions had emerged, leading to a war for control of organized crime in New York City.

The murder of faction leader Joseph Masseria brought an end to the gang warfare, and the two groups united to form the organization now dubbed La Cosa Nostra. It was not a peaceful beginning: Salvatore Maranzano, the first leader of La Cosa Nostra, was murdered within six months. Charles ï¿½Luckyï¿½ Luciano became the new leader. Maranzano had established the La Cosa Nostra code of conduct, set up the ï¿½familyï¿½ divisions and structure, and established procedures for resolving disputes. Luciano set up the ï¿½Commissionï¿½ to rule all La Cosa Nostra activities. The Commission included bosses from six or seven families. Luciano was deported back to Italy in 1946 based on his conviction for operating a prostitution ring. There, he became a liaison between the Sicilian Mafia and La Cosa Nostra. Other Historical Highlights: 1951: A U.S. Senate committee led by Democrat Estes Kefauver of Tennessee determined that a ï¿½sinister criminal organizationï¿½ known as the Mafia operated in this nation.

1957: The New York State Police uncovered a meeting of major LCN figures from around the country in the small upstate New York town of Apalachin. Many of the attendees were arrested. The event was the catalyst that changed the way law enforcement battles organized crime. 1963: Joseph Valachi became the first La Cosa Nostra member to provide a detailed looked inside the organization. Recruited by FBI agents, Valachi revealed to a U.S. Senate committee numerous secrets of the organization, including its name, structure, power bases, codes, swearing-in ceremony, and members of the organization. Today, La Cosa Nostra is involved in a broad spectrum of illegal activities: murder, extortion, drug trafficking, corruption of public officials, gambling, infiltration of legitimate businesses, labor racketeering, loan sharking, prostitution, pornography, tax-fraud schemes, and stock manipulation schemes. The Genovese Crime Family Named after legendary boss Vito Genovese, the Genovese crime family was once considered the most powerful organized crime family in the nation.

Members and their numerous associates engaged in drug trafficking, murder, assault, gambling, extortion, loansharking, labor racketeering, money laundering, arson, gasoline bootlegging, and infiltration of legitimate businesses. Genovese family members are also involved in stock market manipulation and other illegal frauds and schemes as evidenced by the recent FBI investigation code named ï¿½Mobstocks.ï¿½ The Genovese crime family has its roots in the Italian criminal groups in New York controlled by Joseph Masseria in the 1920s. The family history is rife with murder, violence, and greed. Early History ï¿½ Masseria and Maranzano Masseria sparked the so-called ï¿½Castellammarese Warï¿½ in 1928 when he tried to gain control of organized crime across the country. The war ended in 1931 when Salvatore Maranzano conspired with Masseriaï¿½s top soldier, Charles ï¿½Luckyï¿½ Luciano, to have Masseria killed.

Maranzano emerged as the most powerful Mafia boss in the nation, setting up five separate criminal groups in New York and calling himself ï¿½Boss of Bosses.ï¿½ Two of the most powerful La Cosa Nostra families ï¿½ known today as the Genovese and Gambino families ï¿½ emerged from Maranzanoï¿½s restructuring efforts. Maranzano named Luciano the first boss of what would later be known as the Genovese family. Luciano showed his appreciation less than five months later by sending five men dressed as police officers to Maranzanoï¿½s office to murder him. Luciano, Costello, and Genovese With Maranzano out of the way, Luciano become the most powerful Mafia boss in America and used his position to run La Cosa Nostra like a major corporation. He set up the LCN Commission, or ruling body, composed of seven bosses, and divided the different rackets among the families. In 1936, Luciano was sentenced to 30 to 50 years in prison. Ten years later, he was released from prison and deported to Italy, never to return.

When he was convicted, Frank Costello became acting boss because Genovese ï¿½ then just an underboss ï¿½ had fled to Italy to avoid a murder charge. His return to the states was cleared when a key witness against him was poisoned and the charges were dropped. Costello led the family for approximately 20 years until May of 1957 when Genovese took control by sending soldier Vincent ï¿½the Chinï¿½ Gigante to murder him. Costello survived the attack but relinquished control of the family to Genovese. Attempted murder charges against Gigante were dismissed when Costello refused to identify him as the shooter. In 1959, it was Genoveseï¿½s turn to go to prison following a conviction of conspiracy to violate narcotics laws. He received a 15-year sentence but continued to run the family through his underlings from his prison cell in Atlanta, Georgia. Valachi Sings About this time, Joseph Valachi, a ï¿½made man,ï¿½ was sent to the same prison as Genovese on a narcotics conviction. Labeled an informer, Valachi survived three attempts on his life behind bars.

Still in prison in 1962, he killed a man he thought Genovese had sent to kill him. He was sentenced to life for the murder. The sentencing was a turning point for Valachi, who decided to cooperate with the U.S. government. On September 27, 1963, he appeared before the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and testified that he was a member of a secret criminal society in the U.S. known as La Cosa Nostra. In 1969, several years after Valachi began cooperating with the FBI, Vito Genovese died in his prison cell. By then the Genovese family was under the control of Philip ï¿½Benny Squintï¿½ Lombardo. Unlike the bosses before him, Lombardo preferred to rule behind his underboss. His first, Thomas Eboli, was murdered in 1972. Lombardo promoted Frank ï¿½Funziï¿½ Tieri, and later Anthony ï¿½Fat Tonyï¿½ Salerno as his front men. Throughout the 1980s, the Genovese family hierarchy went through several changes.

Tieri, recognized on the street as the Genovese family boss in the late 1970s, was convicted for operating a criminal organization through a pattern of racketeering that included murder and extortion. Salerno then fronted as boss until he had stroke in 1981. In 1985, Salerno and the bosses of the other four New York families were convicted for operating a criminal enterpriseï¿½the LCN Commission. Lombardo, his two captains in prison and his health failing, turned full control of the Genovese family over to Giganteï¿½the man who tried to kill Costello 30 years earlier. Fish on the Hook In 1986, a second member turned against the Genovese family when Vincent ï¿½Fishï¿½ Cafaro, a soldier and right-hand-man to Anthony Salerno, decided to cooperate with the FBI and testify. According to Cafaroï¿½s sworn statement, Gigante ran the family from behind the scenes while pretending to be mentally ill. Cafaro said this behavior helped further insulate Gigante from authorities while he ran the Genovese familyï¿½s criminal activities.

Giganteï¿½s odd behavior and mumbling while he walked around New Yorkï¿½s East Village in a bathrobe earned him the nickname ï¿½the Odd Father.ï¿½ After an FBI investigation, Gigante was convicted of racketeering and murder conspiracy in December 1997 and sentenced to 12 years. Another FBI investigation led to his indictment on January 17, 2002, accusing him of continuing to run the Genovese family from prison. He pled guilty to obstruction of justice in 2003. Gigante died in prison in December 2005 in the same federal hospital where Gambino family leader John Gotti had died in 2002. Labor Racketeering Labor racketeering is the domination, manipulation, and control of a labor movement in order to affect related businesses and industries. It can lead to the denial of workersï¿½ rights and inflicts an economic loss on the workers, business, industry, insurer, or consumer.

The historical involvement of La Cosa Nostra in labor racketeering has been thoroughly documented: More than one-third of the 58 members arrested in 1957 at the Apalachin conference in New York listed their employment as ï¿½laborï¿½ or ï¿½labor-management relations.ï¿½ Three major U.S. Senate investigations have documented La Cosa Nostraï¿½s involvement in labor racketeering. One of these, the McClellan Committee, in the late-1950s, found systemic racketeering in both the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union. In 1986, the Presidentï¿½s Council on Organized Crime reported that five major unionsï¿½including the Teamsters and the Laborers International Union of North Americaï¿½were dominated by organized crime. In the early 1980s, former Gambino Family Boss Paul Castellano was overheard saying, ï¿½Our job is to run the unions.ï¿½ Labor racketeering has become one of La Cosa Nostraï¿½s fundamental sources of profit, national power, and influence.

FBI investigations over the years have clearly demonstrated that labor racketeering costs the American public millions of dollars each year through increased labor costs that are eventually passed on to consumers. Labor unions provide a rich source for organized criminal groups to exploit: their pension, welfare, and health funds. There are approximately 75,000 union locals in the U.S., and many of them maintain their own benefit funds. In the mid-1980s, the Teamsters controlled more than 1,000 funds with total assets of more than $9 billion. Labor racketeers attempt to control health, welfare, and pension plans by offering ï¿½sweetheartï¿½ contracts, peaceful labor relations, and relaxed work rules to companies, or by rigging union elections. Labor law violations occur primarily in large cities with both a strong industrial base and strong labor unions, like New York, Buffalo, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and Philadelphia. These cities also have a large presence of organized crime figures. Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) The US Government has several investigative techniques to root out labor law violations: electronic surveillance, undercover operations, confidential sources, and victim interviews.

It also has numerous criminal and civil statutes to use at our disposal, primarily through the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Statute. The civil provisions of the RICO statute have proven to be very powerful weapons, especially the consent decrees. They are often more productive because they attack the entire corrupt entity instead of imprisoning individuals, who can easily be replaced with other organized crime members or associates. Consent decrees are most effective when there is long-term, systemic corruption at virtually every level of a labor union by criminal organizations. A civil RICO complaint and subsequent consent decree can restore democracy to a corrupt union by imposing civil remedies designed to eliminate such corruption and deter its re-emergence. The Teamsters are the best example of how efficiently the civil RICO process can be used. For decades, the Teamsters has been substantially controlled by La Cosa Nostra. In recent years, four of eight Teamster presidents were indicted, yet the union continued to be controlled by organized crime elements. The government has been fairly successful at removing the extensive criminal influence from this 1.4 million-member union by using the civil process.

Chris Christie Tino Fiumara, the brother of Chris Christie's auntï¿½s husband, was a ranking member of the Genovese crime family. Tino was twice convicted of racketeering, sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, and linked by investigators to several grisly murders, including one in which a victim was strangled with piano wire. Christie says that as United States attorney he was tough on organized crime, but it did not rank as high as public corruption, terrorism, violent street gangs or human trafficking. And he said he stands by a 2007 remark that ï¿½the Mafia is much more prominent on HBO than in New Jersey.ï¿½ By 2009 Fiumara sat on a the three-man committee that ran the Genovese family following the death of Vincent Gigante in 2005. Tino (the Greek) Fiumara died in 2010 of pancreatic cancer.

The Christie crew engaged in a ï¿½mafia-esqueï¿½ episode for four days in September 2013, abrupt and unexpected lane closures on the George Washington Bridge - that links New Jersey to New York City and carried some 300,000 vehicles on a typical day - brought traffic to a standstill. Christie denied charges he or his team ordered the closing to punish Democratic Mayor Mark Sokolich of Fort Lee, New Jersey for refusing to support his bid for reelection. But e-mails from one of the governorï¿½s aides confirmed his teamï¿½s involvement. The governor said he did not know. At least two aides have been indicted in the alleged scheme to shut down lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge as political retribution for a mayor who refused to endorse the governor's re-election. Mayor Dawn Zimmer of Hoboken said the Christie administration was prepared to deny Hoboken Sandy relief aid if she didnï¿½t favor a redevelopment project represented by David Samson, Chairman of the Port Authority and a close confidante of Governor Christie. Had Zimmer succumbed to the pressure, Samsonï¿½s law firm could ultimately have made millions of dollars in legal fees.

On February 26, 2016 Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump won the endorsement of one of his formal rivals, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who said Trump had the best chance to win the November election. Meg Whitman, who served in the role of National Finance Co-Chair for Christie's campaign, said "Chris Christie's endorsement of Donald Trump is an astonishing display of political opportunism. Donald Trump is unfit to be President. He is a dishonest demagogue who plays to our worst fears. Trump would take America on a dangerous journey. Christie knows all that and indicated as much many times publicly. The Governor is mistaken if he believes he can now count on my support, and I call on Christie's donors and supporters to reject the Governor and Donald Trump outright. I believe they will. For some of us, principle and country still matter." Donald Trump Real-estate mogul Donald Trump has long faced allegations of connections to the mob. Trump joined his dadï¿½s real estate business in his 20s, giving him a multitude of contacts ranging from political and real estate power brokers to mob connections. Trump's father, Fred Trump, was reportedly worth $200-$400 million when he died.

James Tomasello was the bricklayer contractor on one of Fred Trump's early projects. Tomasello was a source capital for Trump, and the source of that capital was something Trump didn't inquire about too closely. According to the Organized Crime Task Force in the 1950s, a complex web of relationships linked Tomasello to the Gambino and Genovese crime families. Prior to joining Trump, William ï¿½Willieï¿½ Tomasello had partnered with figures in the Genovese and Gambino crime families in a number of real estate developments in New York and Florida. Trump's alleged ties to New York and Philadelphia crime families go back decades and have been recounted in a book, newspapers and government records. "The mob connections of Donald are extraordinarily extensive," New York investigative journalist Wayne Barrett told CNN in an interview. In the 1980s and early 1990s organized crime' ties to the New York and New Jersey construction industries made contact between developers and mafia-controlled companies unavoidable. Writing in the Washington Post October 16, 2015, Robert O'Harrow Jr.

noted "No serious presidential candidate has ever had Trumpï¿½s depth of documented business relationships with mob-controlled entities. ... Throughout his early career, Trump routinely gave large campaign contributions to politicians who held sway over his projects, and he worked with mob-controlled companies and unions to build them... He was never accused of illegality, and observers of the time say that working with the mob-related figures and politicos came with the territory." Trump bought the property that his Atlantic City casino Trump Plaza would one day occupy -- for twice market price -- from Salvatore Testa, a Philly mobster and son of Philip ï¿½Chicken Manï¿½ Testa, who was briefly head of the Philly mob after Angelo Brunoï¿½s 1980 killing. Trump used the mob-controlled concrete company S&A Concrete to build Trump Plaza condos. Anthony "Fat Tony" Salerno, head of the Genovese crime family, and Paul Castellano, the don of New York's Gambino family, controlled S&A. The Trump Tower was built out of concrete, instead of steel - the mafia controlled much the concrete industry. Trump and Salerno were both represented by high-power attorney Roy Cohn.

NEWSLETTER La Cosa Nostra [COSANOSTRA] - Organizations - Roberts Space Industries Join us now! Nearly 1000 years on from its establishment and we the Cosa Nostra still exist, even when faced with near destruction. Many believed us gone, many have forgotten, but nothing will stop us. We are not pirates, we will not hide, we are proud. Our main objective is as always….to become filthy rich! History Manifesto Charter History La Cosa Nostra were formerly established and recognised in 1920, although our then hidden organisation dates back to the 16th century. The Cosa Nostra were involved in numerous illegal activities which led to a fearsome and respectable reputation. Smuggling (drugs, weapons and other contraband), protection from theft and/or competition, rackets, vote rigging, bid rigging, loan sharking, burglary, murder, sedition, territorial control, gambling amongst other illicit activities led to the power and growth of the Cosa Nostra. THE RISE Origins La Cosa Nostra originally hailed from Sicily, Italy. Our name wasn’t given to us, we chose it.

La Cosa Nostra translated in to English means ‘Our thing’ and we are proud of our heritage and believe that loyalty and values matter above everything else. During the late 19th Century many Italians flocked to America and joined criminal societies providing the personnel and criminal masterminds for what would be the future American based Cosa Nostra. From the 1890’s to the 1900’s Sicillian immigrants congregated and established a mafia, the ‘Five Points Gang’, which grew to become very powerful taking control of Little Italy in the Lower East Side of New York City. 1920: January 17th, 1920 marked the beginning of the Prohibition in the United States making it illegal to manufacture, transport or sell alcohol. This provided criminal organisations with the perfect opportunity to provide and sell alcohol turning over huge profits by breaking the laws. Thus fueling the expansion of the five points gang in to the American based Cosa Nostra. 1925-1929: Benito Mussolini launches a war against the then Sicilian based mafia.

11,000 suspected mafioso were arrested, tortured and beaten for information that would lead to the demise of the well established organisation in Sicily. Despite his attempts the mafioso powered on with many flooding to the United States of America. Many of the immigrants joined the American Cosa Nostra to escape the poor lifestyle they were dealt upon arrival, among these were Carlo Gambino and Joseph Bonanno. 1931: Lucky Luciano founded the commission which allowed each boss of the most powerful families to vote and voice their opinions on important matters and disputes between families. The Mafia developed a strict set of rules that originated in Sicily by which they would all abide (shown on Charter page), allowing them to thrive where otheres would fail. 1933: This was the year that marked the end of prohibition and the growth of organised crime groups came to a stand still. The smarter mafia families recognised that the only way to expand was to seize other avenues of income such as construction, unions and drug trafficking. 1940-1949: The Cosa Nostra bought and built casinos in Las Vegas bringing in vast amounts of money.

Although much of it was Lawfully recorded much of it was not, believed to be hundreds of millions of dollars (old U.S. currency). 1980’s-1990’s: The Rico Act was established which was a highly effective tool for prosecuting our families founders. This led to the incarceration of many bosses, underbosses and captains of the Cosa Nostra leading to the demise of the ‘Glory Days’. 1990’s-2050: The Cosa Nostra even though persecuted for crimes against the Law still thrived, with many bosses becoming hidden and using large organisations as a shield for their illegal activities. The face of the Cosa Nostra returned to its roots in Sicily, they were able to prosper due to the ability of still having the upper hand and the ear of many in the Italian federal System. The Fall 2057-2058 February 25th, 2057: Prime Minister Enzo Abatangelo is voted in to power by the Italian population promising the eradication of mafia power in Italy.

February 28th, 2057: Assassination attempt by the Cosa Nostra on the Prime Minister backfires with the capturing of both mafia hitmen. This gives PM Abatangelo the ammunition to instigate a national witch hunt against the Cosa Nostra. March 13th, 2057: The Italian army and Carabinieri descend on Naples with the intent of abolishing the Camorra. Mafia families and members are arrested in their homes and businesses seized however the mafia put up a strong resistance in certain regions of the city leading to the death of 67 mafia members and 134 Italian militants in just 3 days. March 16th – October 27th, 2057: Conflicts carry on in Naples however the military filter in to the surrounding countryside and other mafia controlled cities heading further and further south. PM Abatangelo’s operation now ranges from just South of Rome to the tip of Italy at Calbria. The Military are fighting 3 different mafia (Camorra in Naples, Sacra Corona Unita in Bari, ‘Ndrangheta in reggio Calabria) across all different types of terrain.

In these few months it is estimated that 2500 mafia members are killed, 300 are detained with a loss of 4000 Italian militants. The Military’s high losses (due to the inability of fighting in well known mafia terrain) sends a shock around the world with many countries PM Abatangelo’s decision for all out warfare. October 28th, 2057: Camorra boss Luca Bastone is killed on the outskirts of Caserta after a 35 hour fire fight at one of his mansions. The news spreads around the South of Italy like wild fire and a mass exodus of the remaining mafia to Sicily begins. The four families now including the Cosa Nostra believe that this is their last Stronghold and that it can never be breached. October 29th, 2057 – January 16th, 2058: Fighting starts to fizzle out in mainland Italy as the mafia flees to Sicily. The Cosa Nostra assume control over all four families and threaten that a war brought to the shores of Sicily would be futile and costly.

Cosa Nostra Boss, Basso Falco mobilizes a mafia army close to 16,000 and is now joined by both Sacra Corona Unita boss Carmelo Cutolo and ‘Ndrangheta boss Damiano Terrizzi. January 17th, 2058: Pm Abatangelo is called to an immediate meeting with the other members of the EU (a historic organisation of European Nations) and told that whilst they back desire to rid Italy of the Mafia they believe his methods are questionable and cannot join him. They urge for quick peace to be restored. February 8th – March 10th, 2058: Abatangelo ignores the EU’s pleas and decided to attempt an invasion on Sicily. For the next month the bloodiest civil war of the 21st century occurred with a total of 8000 mafia killed to an astonishing 18,000 Italian military personnel with an estimated 10,000 Sicilian civilians killed in the cross fire. March 11th, 2058: The Italian public riot against Abatangelo requesting that he resigns from office Immediately.

Abatangelo tries to reason with the Italian public but it falls upon deaf ears and just 3 days later he walks out of office. March 14th, 2058: Gabriele Pugliese takes control of the Italian Government and withdraws all forces from Sicily immediately. March 20th, 2058: PM Pugliese offers peace talks with the Cosa Nostra and a date is set for the 23rd of the same month. March 23rd, 2058: The Frontiere Trattato peace treaty is signed between the Cosa Nostra and Italy stating that the mafia will never cross in to mainland Italy but can operate in Sicily without fear of being prosecuted as long as they abide by fundamental Italian Laws. April 22nd, 2163: For the next 105 years Sicily slowly perishes as neither Italy nor the mafia want to pay for the reconstruction and maintenance of the islands infrastructure. April 23rd, 2163: Vincenzo Falco is appointed as head of the Cosa Nostra with a much different views to that of previous mafiosa bosses.

He finances the reconstruction of Sicily and aid to those who lost family members over a century ago in what is now known as the sanguinosa guerra civile. It is estimated that almost approximately 14,000 civilians were killed in the cross fire over the course of the ‘civil war’. He declares that the Cosa Nostra’s wealth is tainted with the blood of thousands and the only use for it is for the good of the people. Over the next 30 or so years the Cosa Nostra’s accounts dwindle and Sicily thrives with the building of new homes, hospitals and healthcare facilities, schools and Universities, vastly improved infrastructure and the reintroduction of the Polizia within Sicily with new police stations and state of art technology. He also declares that full control of Sicily should be handed back to the Italian Government and should no longer be isolated from the rest of Italy and to a degree the world. Vincenzo Falco is heralded around the world for his actions and contributions not just to Sicily but the millions he hands over to Charitable Organisations shedding a new view on the Cosa Nostra.

Over the next 800 years the Cosa Nostra fade in to the background and become History. Ancestors of the once powerful family still exist in the Universe and now at the turn of the Century the family calls out once again for you to take up the oath your forefathers once swore to, the Cosa Nostra will become Powerful and Wealthy again. So what are you waiting for? Don’t let the family down. Manifesto La Cosa Nostra’s main goal is to reappear before the turn of the century with a new vision and different image than before. Our idea is to become a forefront organisation in trading, resources (more listed below), not just as a business but as a Universal family. We believe that we can build upon what our forefathers and ancestors set down over a thousand years ago and once again become a respected organisation by many. This will be done by combining their rules with some new ones set out by our members. Our image has been reshaped from the bottom up, no longer do we display ourselves as a ‘criminal organisation’ but more as a business.

By doing so we portray the idea of abiding by the law, this will allow us to trade and interact with other organisation and lawful authorities when needed. Our organisation will expand in to all avenues possible which is why we need a large quantity of different members with different ideas and visions of their own. We aim to be involved in Trading Transport Social We encourage anyone to apply as everyone is welcome to and we believe that everyone has a place in our organisation. One of the main changes to the Cosa Nostra is that we are less of a dictatorial led organisation and will listen to everyone’s ideas and inputs put forward in to how we should expand and evolve for all of us to benefit. We also believe that our organisation should be reward based as it gives members something to strive for. We like the idea that you have the chance of being promoted if you heavily contribute to our cause or an idea you have developed comes to fruition or even bravery at fighting pirates/others attacking our fleet. Therefore we have established a ranking system based on our ancestors designs by which you can move up and be admired by your adversaries. Remember the higher you are up the more weight your opinions carry. The Law Our ancestors could be said to have had an ever changing relationship with the law.

One of the first questions we would put to our members is whether or not we should partake in secret acts of ‘unlawful’ activities. I mean our main aim here is to make as much money as possible right? Therefore we also put forward these ideas for you to discuss with us Smuggling – Smuggling by definition means ‘To import or export without paying lawful customs charges or duties’. Smuggling would be done infrequently and be part of a larger transport system that we have established after some time as to minimize our chances of being caught. ‘Bounty Hunting’ – Bounty hunting criminals is legal, but what if it was to abduct or kill a lawful civilian of the UEE? I’m sure there will be many organisation out there willing to spend good money to kill off a rival CEO or equivalent. Maybe some of our members would like the idea of becoming specialist hitmen, becoming specialist’s at covert operations and trying to out-smarten the Law. Infiltration – Again infiltration could be seen as being a lawful activity if it was against a criminal organisation such as the vast amount of pirates we know exist in the known Universe.

We could make this an avenue to establish by maybe infiltrating their plans to attack a UEE fleet and then selling the plans to that organisation so that they can act upon it. However there is also the possibility of infiltrating lawful organisations……Maybe they have jump point plans that they keep to themselves that other would pay to have on the black market? Or maybe they know of a rich mining field that they have kept to themselves that other would kill to have? The ideas and options are endless which is why this organisation stands out above all the rest. For those who don’t want to be pirates but would love to know how far the law can be pushed then this is the one for you. We would love to become as rich as possible and reward everyone involved. We would love to build a fleet of ships and maybe take over a space station as our own (something Chris Roberts has spoken about). As stated the Cosa Nostra will listen to everyone’s ideas whether large or small and will take them on board. So apply now and let’s build the best organisation in the UEE. Charter The Rules listed below are from a document that dates to around a thousand years old.

Whilst many are outdated and do not apply to our new vision, many still apply and hold their value. 1. No one can present himself directly to another of our friends. There must be a third person to do it. 2. Never look at the wives of friends. 3. Never be seen with cops. 4. Don’t go to pubs and clubs. 5. Always being available for Cosa Nostra is a duty – even if your wife’s about to give birth. 6. Appointments must absolutely be respected. 7. Wives must be treated with respect. 8. When asked for any information, the answer must be the truth. 9. Money cannot be appropriated if it belongs to others or to other families. 10. People who can’t be part of Cosa Nostra: anyone who has a close relative in the police, anyone with a two-timing relative in the family, anyone who behaves badly and doesn’t hold to moral values. The above that we adhere to at present are 2, 3 (unless on a secret task), 5, 6, 7, 8. As said previously stated anyone can join but this may change depending on your views the further Star Citizen develops.

San Jose crime family | Mafia Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia San Jose crime family Share The Cerrito crime family was one of the two families that controlled organized crime in San Jose, California, within the nationwide criminal organization known as the Mafia (or La Cosa Nostra). The other family that ran organized crime in San Jose was the Bonanno Crime Family of New York. Contents Edit The first probable organized crime in San Jose, California was founded by Onofrio Sciortino . The family was formed in 1942, during the second World War. Sciortino would derive a majority of his profits from loansharking, gambling, shylocking and prostitution. He was probably the first official La Cosa Nostra crime boss of San Jose up till the time of his death on September 10, 1959. Joseph Cerito Edit Mobster Joseph Cerrito was Sciortino's underboss and took over the crime family. In 1968 LIFE Magazine identified Joseph Cerrito as the crime boss of the San Jose mob. He sued for libel but the case was eventually dismissed.

Cerrito retired and died of natural causes in 1978, his younger brother Salvatore Cerrito was also a member of the San Jose family and died in December of the same year. Angelo Marino Edit A loyal caporegime named Angelo Marino was selected the new don over the San Jose rackets in 1978. Marino had close connections with San Francisco mayor, from 1968-1974, Joseph Alioto. Marino was close with San Francisco crime family boss James Lanza and consigliere of the Los Angeles Crime Family and FBI informant Frank Bompensiero. He owned and operated the California Cheese Company. His father, Salvatore "Sam" Marino , a long time member of the Pittsburgh crime family, handed the company to Marino. His company controlled eighty-five percent of the cheese distribution in California and fifty percent west of the Mississippi River. Marino brought over many Sicilian immigrants to work in his cheese factory, one of them was Carlo America . Marino was indicted in October 1977 with his son, for the murder of Peter Catelli. The reason for the murder was due to Peter Catelli attempting to obtain a job with Marino’s company.

When Marino refused him a positioning spot, Peter attempted to extort $100,000 from Marino. The father, Orlando, also was shot in the same attack which occurred at a trailer on the north side of the California Cheese Co. factory. Marino decided to order Orlando to kill Peter. Orlando refused and both were shot at. Orlando survived and agreed to testify against Marino for the prosecution. He told the prosecution that Marino's son Salvatore killed Peter and then shot Orlando in the head. Marino used his bad health to avoid going to trial for the next three years, but he continued to operate the crime family from a hospital. Joseph Piazza and Thomas Napolitano were also arrested for participating in the attack. On October 12, 1980 Angelo Marino was convicted of second-degree murder and attempted murder. His conviction was overturned on appeals and he was released. Angelo Marino died of a congestive heart failure due to diabetes in February of 1983.

Current Position The Mafia in Sicily - Sicily Bella The Mafia in Sicily: The Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra) is a Sicilian criminal secret society which first developed in the mid-19th century in Sicily. An offshoot emerged on the East Coast of the United States and in Australia during the late 19th century following waves of Sicilian and Southern Italian emigration. In North America, the Mafia often refers to Italian organized crime in general, rather than just traditional Sicilian organized crime. According to historian Paolo Pezzino: "The Mafia is a kind of organized crime being active not only in several illegal fields, but also tending to exercise sovereignty functions – normally belonging to public authorities – over a specific territory.." The Sicilian Cosa Nostra is a loose confederation of about one hundred Mafia groups, also called cosche or families, each of which claims sovereignty over a territory, usually a town or village or a neighborhood of a larger city, though without ever fully conquering and legitimizing its monopoly of violence.

For many years, the power apparatuses of the single families were the sole ruling bodies within the two associations, and they have remained the real centers of power even after super ordinate bodies were created in the Cosa Nostra beginning in the late 1950s Some observers have seen "mafia" as a set of attributes deeply rooted in popular culture, as a "way of being", as illustrated in the definition by the Sicilian ethnographer, Giuseppe Pitrè, at the end of the 19th century: "Mafia is the consciousness of one's own worth, the exaggerated concept of individual force as the sole arbiter of every conflict, of every clash of interests or ideas." Many Sicilians did not regard these men as criminals but as role models and protectors, given that the state appeared to offer no protection for the poor and weak. As late as the 1950s, the funeral epitaph of the legendary boss of Villalba, Calogero Vizzini, stated that "his 'mafia' was not criminal, but stood for respect of the law, defense of all rights, greatness of character.

It was love." Here, "mafia" means something like pride, honour, or even social responsibility: an attitude, not an organization. Likewise, in 1925, the former Italian Prime Minister Vittorio Emanuele Orlando stated in the Italian senate that he was proud of being mafioso, because that word meant honourable, noble, generous. Cosa Nostra: According to some mafiosi, the real name of the Mafia is "Cosa Nostra" ("Our thing"). Many have claimed, as did the Mafia turncoat Tommaso Buscetta, that the word "mafia" was a literary creation. Other Mafia defectors, such as Antonio Calderone and Salvatore Contorno, said the same thing. According to them, the real thing was "cosa nostra". To men of honour belonging to the organization, there is no need to name it. Mafiosi introduce known members to other known members as belonging to "cosa nostra" or la stessa cosa, meaning "he is the same, a mafioso, as you". Only the outside world needs a name to describe it, hence the capitalized form "Cosa Nostra".

Cosa Nostra was first used, in the early 1960s, in the United States by Joseph Valachi, a mafioso turned state witness, during the hearings of the McClellan Commission. At the time, it was understood as a proper name, fostered by the FBI and disseminated by the media. The designation gained wide popularity and almost replaced the term Mafia. The FBI even added an article to the term, calling it 'La Cosa Nostra'. In Italy the article 'la' is never used when the term refers to the Mafia. Rituals of Sicilian Cosa Nostra: The orientation ritual in most families happens when a man becomes an associate, and then, a soldier. As described by Tommaso Buscetta to judge Giovanni Falcone, the neophyte is brought together with at least three "men of honor" of the family and the oldest member present warns him that "this House" is meant to protect the weak against the abuse of the powerful; he then pricks the finger of the initiate and spills his blood onto a sacred image, usually of a saint. The image is placed in the hand of the initiate and lit on fire.

The neophyte must withstand the pain of the burning, passing the image from hand to hand, until the image has been consumed, while swearing to keep faith with the principles of "Cosa Nostra," solemnly swearing "may my flesh burn like this saint if I fail to keep my oath." Joseph Valachi was the first person to mention that in court. The Sicilians also have a law of silence, called omertà; it forbids the common man, woman or child to cooperate at all with the police or the government, upon pain of death. History of Sicilian Cosa Nostra: Origins: It has long been debated whether the mafia has medieval origins. Deceased pentito Tommaso Buscetta thought so, whilst modern scholars now believe otherwise. It is possible that the "original" mafia formed as a secret society sworn to protect the Sicilian population from the threat of Catalan marauders in the fifteenth century. However, there is very little historical evidence to suggest this. It is also feasible that the "Robin Hood" origins, which are closely intertwined with the Sicilian outlaw Salvatore Giuliano, were perpetuated by the earliest known mafiosi as a means of gaining goodwill and trust from the Sicilian people.

This origin states that the Mafia is a means for righteous rebels to defend the people against oppression, Roman and Northern Italian control, and outside invasion. After the Revolution of 1848 and the revolution of 1860, Sicily had fallen to complete disorder. The earliest mafiosi, at that time separate, small bands of outlaws, offered their guns in the revolt. Author John Dickie claims that the main reasons for this were the chance to burn police records and evidence, and to kill off police and pentiti in the chaos. However, once a new government was established in Rome and it became clear that the mafia would be unable to execute these actions, they began refining their methods and techniques over the latter half of the nineteenth century. Protecting the large lemon groves and estates of local nobility became a lucrative but dangerous business. Palermo was initially the main area of these activities, but the Sicilian mafia's dominance soon spread over all of western Sicily. In order to strengthen the bond between the disparate gangs and so ensure greater profits and a safer working environment, it is possible that the mafia as such was formed at this time in about the mid-19th century.

Mafia after the unification of Italy: From 1860, the year when the new unified Italian state first took over both Sicily and the Papal States, the Popes were hostile to the state. From 1870, the Pope declared himself besieged by the Italian state and strongly encouraged Catholics to refuse to cooperate with the state. Broadly speaking, in mainland Italy, this did not lead to violence. Sicily was strongly Catholic, but in a strongly tribal sense rather than in an intellectual and theological sense, and had a tradition of suspicion of outsiders. The friction between the Church and the state gave a great advantage to violent criminal bands in Sicily who could claim to peasants and townspeople that cooperating with the police (representing the new Italian state) was an anti-Catholic activity. It was in the two decades following the 1860 unification that the term Mafia came to the attention of the general public, although it was considered to be more of an attitude and value system than an organization. The first mention in official law documentation of the 'mafia' came in the late 1800s, when a Dr.

Galati was subject to threats of violence from a local mafioso, who was attempting to oust Galati from his own lemon grove in order to move himself in. Protection rackets, cattle rustling and bribery of state officials were the main sources of income and protection for the early mafia. Cosa Nostra also borrowed heavily from masonic oaths and rituals, such as the now famous initiation ceremony. Fascist era: During the Fascist period in Italy, Cesare Mori, prefect of Palermo, used special powers granted to him to prosecute the Mafia, forcing many Mafiosi to flee abroad or risk being jailed. Many of the Mafiosi who escaped fled to the United States, among them Joseph Bonanno, nicknamed Joe Bananas, who came to dominate the U.S. branch of the Mafia. However, when Mori started to persecute the Mafiosi involved in the Fascist hierarchy, he was removed, and the Fascist authorities proclaimed that the Mafia had been defeated. Though the mafia was weakened, it had not been defeated as claimed.

Despite his assault on their brethren, Mussolini had his admirers in the New York Mafia, notably Vito Genovese (although he was from Naples and not from Sicily). The post-war revival: After Fascism, the Mafia did not become powerful in Italy again until after the country's surrender in World War II and the U.S. occupation. The United States used Italian connections of American Mafiosi during the invasion of Italy and Sicily in 1943. Lucky Luciano and other Mafiosi, who had been imprisoned during this time in the U.S., provided information for U.S. military intelligence and used Luciano's influence to ease the way for advancing troops. Furthermore, Luciano's control of the ports prevented sabotage by agents of the Axis powers. Some say that the U.S. Office of Strategic Services, precursor to the CIA, deliberately allowed the mafia to recover its social and economic position as the "anti-State" in Sicily, and with the U.S.-mafia alliance forged in 1943, this became the true turning point of mafia history and the new foundation for its subsequent 60-year career.

Others, such as the Palermitan historian Francesco Renda, have argued that there was no such alliance. Rather, the mafia exploited the chaos of post-fascist Sicily to re conquer its social base. The OSS indeed, in its 1944 "Report on the Problem of Mafia" by the agent W. E. Scotten, pointed to the signs of mafia resurgence and warned of its perils for social order and economic progress. An alleged additional benefit (from the American perspective) was that many of the Sicilian-Italian Mafiosi were hard-line anti-communists. They were therefore seen as valuable allies by the anti-communist Americans, who allegedly used them to root out socialist and communist elements in the American shipping industry as well as wartime resistance movements and postwar local and regional governments in areas where the Mafia held sway. According to drug trade expert Dr. Alfred W. McCoy, Luciano was permitted to run his crime network from his jail cell in exchange for his assistance. After the war, Luciano was rewarded by being released from prison and deported to Italy, where he was able to continue his criminal career unhindered.

He went to Sicily in 1946 to continue his activities and according to McCoy's landmark 1972 book The Politics of Heroin in South-East Asia, Luciano went on to forge a crucial alliance with the Corsican Mafia, leading to the development of a vast international heroin trafficking network, initially supplied from Turkey and based in Marseille — the so-called "French Connection". Later, when Turkey began to eliminate its opium production, he used his connections with the Corsicans to open a dialogue with expatriate Corsican mafiosi in South Vietnam. In collaboration with leading American mob bosses including Santo Trafficante Jr., Luciano and his successors took advantage of the chaotic conditions in Southeast Asia arising from the Vietnam War to establish an unassailable supply and distribution base in the "Golden Triangle", which was soon funneling huge amounts of Asian heroin into the United States, Australia and other countries. The modern Mafia in Sicily: The main split in the Sicilian Mafia at present is between those bosses who have been convicted and are now imprisoned, chiefly Riina and "capo di tutti capi" Bernardo Provenzano, and those who are on the run, or who have not been indicted.

The incarcerated bosses are currently subjected to harsh controls on their contact with the outside world, limiting their ability to run their operations from behind bars under the article 41 bis prison regime. Antonino Giuffrè – a close confidant of Provenzano, turned pentito shortly after his capture in 2002 – alleges that in 1993, Cosa Nostra had direct contact with representatives of Silvio Berlusconi who was then planning the birth of Forza Italia. The deal that he says was alleged to have been made was a repeal of 41 bis, among other anti-Mafia laws in return for electoral deliverances in Sicily. Giuffrè's declarations have not been confirmed. The Italian Parliament, with the support of Forza Italia, extended the enforcement of 41 bis, which was to expire in 2002 but has been prolonged for another four years and extended to other crimes such as terrorism. However, according to one of Italy’s leading magazines, L'Espresso, 119 mafiosi – one-fifth of those incarcerated under the 41 bis regime – have been released on an individual basis.

The human rights group Amnesty International has expressed concern that the 41-bis regime could in some circumstances amount to "cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment" for prisoners. In addition to Salvatore Lima, mentioned above, the politician Giulio Andreotti and the High Court judge Corrado Carnevale have long been suspected of having ties to the Mafia. By the late 1990s, the weakened Cosa Nostra had to yield most of the illegal drug trade to the 'Ndrangheta crime organization from Calabria. In 2006, the latter was estimated to control 80% of the cocaine import to Europe. The mafia also have a strong business in extortion big companies as well as smaller ones. It estimates that 7% of Italy's output is filtered off by organized crime. The Mafia has turned into one of Italy's biggest business enterprises with a turnover of more than US$120 billion a year. Sicilybella.com - Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Disclaimer: Prices subject to change without notice. May contain technical inaccuracies and typographical errors. These pages may be updated from time to time.

Origins of the Mafia - Facts & Summary - HISTORY.com Origins of the Mafia A+E Networks Introduction The Mafia, a network of organized-crime groups based in Italy and America, evolved over centuries in Sicily, an island ruled until the mid-19th century by a long line of foreign invaders. Sicilians banded together in groups to protect themselves and carry out their own justice. In Sicily, the term “mafioso,” or Mafia member, initially had no criminal connotations and was used to refer to a person who was suspicious of central authority. By the 19th century, some of these groups emerged as private armies, or “mafie,” who extorted protection money from landowners and eventually became the violent criminal organization known today as the Sicilian Mafia. The American Mafia, which rose to power in the 1920s, is a separate entity from the Mafia in Italy, although they share such traditions as omerta, a code of conduct and loyalty. Google The Mafia’s Sicilian Roots For centuries, Sicily, an island in the Mediterranean Sea between North Africa and the Italian mainland, was ruled by a long line of foreign invaders, including the Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, French and Spanish.

The residents of this island, which measures almost 10,000 square feet, formed groups to protect themselves from the often-hostile occupying forces, as well as from other regional groups of Sicilians. These groups, which later became known as clans or families, developed their own system for justice and retribution, carrying out their actions in secret. By the 19th century, small private armies known as “mafie” took advantage of the frequently violent, chaotic conditions in Sicily and extorted protection money from landowners. From this history, the Sicilian Mafia emerged as a collection of criminal clans or families. Did You Know? The Sicilian Mafia is one of four major criminal networks currently based in Italy; the other three are the Camorra of Naples, the Ndrangheta of Calabria and the Sacra Corona Unita of Puglia. Although its precise origins are unknown, the term Mafia came from a Sicilian-Arabic slang expression that means “acting as a protector against the arrogance of the powerful,” according to Selwyn Raab, author of “Five Families: The Rise, Decline, and Resurgence of America’s Most Powerful Mafia Empires.

Raab notes that until the 19th century, the word “mafioso” did not refer to someone who was a criminal, but rather a person who was suspicious of central authority. In the 1860s, a play called “I Mafiusi della Vicaria” (“Heroes of the Penitentiary”), about a group of inmates at a Sicilian prison who maintained their own hierarchy and rituals, toured Italy and helped popularize the term Mafia in the Italian language. The Mafia on the Rise in Italy In 1861, Sicily became a province of recently unified Italy. However, chaos and crime reigned across the island as the fledgling Italian government tried to establish itself. In the 1870s, Roman officials even asked Sicilian Mafia clans to help them by going after dangerous, independent criminal bands; in exchange, officials would look the other way as the Mafia continued its protection shakedowns of landowners. The government believed this arrangement would be temporary, lasting just long enough for Rome to gain control; instead, the Mafia clans expanded their criminal activities and further entrenched themselves in Sicilian politics and the economy.

The Mafia became adept at political corruption and intimidated people to vote for certain candidates, who were in turn beholden to the Mafia. Even the Catholic Church was involved with Mafia clans during this period, according to Raab, who notes that the church relied on Mafiosi to monitor its massive property holdings in Sicily and keep tenant farmers in line. In order to further strengthen themselves, Sicilian clans began conducting initiation ceremonies in which new members pledged secret oaths of loyalty. Of chief importance to the clans was omerta, an all-important code of conduct reflecting the ancient Sicilian belief that a person should never go to government authorities to seek justice for a crime and never cooperate with authorities investigating any wrongdoing. The Mafia in the 20th Century and Beyond The Mafia’s influence in Sicily grew until the 1920s, when Prime Minister Benito Mussolini came to power and launched a brutal crackdown on mobsters, who he viewed as a threat to his Fascist regime. However, in the 1950s, the Mafia rose again when mob-backed construction companies dominated the post- World War II building boom in Sicily.

Over the next few decades, the Sicilian Mafia flourished, expanding its criminal empire and becoming, by the 1970s, a major player in international narcotics trafficking. The American Mafia, a separate entity from the Mafia in Sicily, came to power in the 1920s Prohibition era after the success of Italian-American neighborhood gangs in the booming bootleg liquor business. By the 1950s, the Mafia (also known as Cosa Nostra, Italian for “Our Thing”) had become the preeminent organized-crime network in the United States and was involved in a range of underworld activities, from loan-sharking to prostitution, while also infiltrating labor unions and legitimate industries such as construction and New York’s garment industry. Like the Sicilian Mafia, American Mafia families were able to maintain their secrecy and success because of their code of omerta, as well as their ability to bribe and intimidate public officials, business leaders, witnesses and juries. For these reasons, law-enforcement agencies were largely ineffective at stopping the Mafia during the first part of the 20th century.

However, during the 1980s and 1990s, prosecutors in America and Italy began successfully employing tough anti-racketeering laws to convict top-ranking mobsters. Additionally, some Mafiosi, in order to avoid long prison terms, began breaking the once-sacred code of omerta and testified against fellow mob members. By the start of the 21st century, after hundreds of high-profile arrests over the course of several decades, the Mafia appeared to be weakened in both countries; however, it was not eliminated completely and remains in business today. Tags Five Families of New York City: Structure of the New York Italian Mafia Structure of the New York Italian Mafia Image via Wikipedia La Cosa Nostra The New York Italian Mafia is an extremely complex, tight-knit family-group that operates under strict policy. The Italian Mafia also known as La Cosa Nostra implements a hierarchical structure that is formal like most legal organizations and businesses. The Italian Mafias national structure consists of a boss or God father, an under-boss, Consigliere or advisor, Caporegime also known as a Capo or Captain, soldiers, and associates.

The boss is head of the entire family who creates laws and policies, dictates the organizations business operations, and receives a percentage of the revenue earned by all members within the family. The under-boss is appointed by the God father and is second in authority. The under-boss relates all orders and information passed down by the main boss and up from members, is in charge of the captains, and in the event the head boss cannot be present as a result of a sickness, imprisonment, and so forth, the under-boss will either temporarily or permanently replace the main boss, therefore, becoming the new families God father (University of Phoenix, 2010). The Consigliere is one of the most trusted individuals within the family. The Consigliere is an advisor for the family, who deals with internal and external disputes, attends family meetings, and attempts to make the family's business operations appear legitimate. In addition, the Consigliere may have numerous political and legal connections, works as a professional, such as a lawyer or stock broker, and refrains from participating and engaging in most illegal activity (University of Phoenix, 2010).

The Caporegime or captain is in charge of operating a small crew of soldiers that range between six to nine members. The captain abides by and adheres to all rules and regulations created by the main boss. Furthermore, The Caporegime obtains his position by a formal vote and is then sworn in as a legitimate member of the family. Each member of the Cosa Nostra family other than the associates is formally accepted by the main boss and under-boss. The Caporegime is responsible for obtaining new methods to increase the profits of the family's organization and pays a weekly or monthly percentage of his crew's earnings to the God father (Mafia Today, 2010). The lowest rank in the Italian Mafia is the solider. But in order, for one to obtain this position a few very important factors must be met. First, any individual who is considered for the solider position must be of Italian background. Second, all soldiers must start out as associates and prove themselves to the captain, under-boss, and God Father. Third, an open slot must be present for an individual to run for solider.

Fourth, an interview with the under-boss and main boss must take place among all candidates where a vote for the best candidate will be conducted (Mafia today, 2010). Though an associate may appear to be a member of the Italian Mafia the associate is not. Associates are individuals who are eager to become members, or are individuals who simply make a connection with the family as a result of performing specific tasks, such as running errands. At the lowest level of the Mafia family lay the soldiers and associates. The structure of the soldiers and associates become loose and network into a spider web like fashion as a means to evade detection and apprehension by law enforcement, and to protect the organizations bottom line. At these two levels individuals are permitted to conduct business domestically and internationally, obtain contacts with other organized crime groups and organizations, and engage in many forms of illegal activity, such as the sales and trafficking of drugs. This is allowed so long as the business being carried out is beneficial to the organization and does not bring forth unnecessary attention to the organization (Mafia Today, 2010). Old school Mafia leaders were hesitant to get involved with the sales of illegal drugs and for the most part remained traditional with the organizations illegal activity.

As the world evolved contemporary Mafia leaders were quick to discover the benefits that exist in the illegal drug trade. The sale of cocaine, crack, heroin, Methamphetamine, LSD's, and Marijuana proved to be too profitable to ignore, and this in return created a new world Mafia. The Mafia implements numerous methods that allow business operations to move smoothly without issue. Trains, ships, air crafts, and motor vehicles are just a few ways, in which drugs are transported across borders. Political leaders and government officials are offered a substantial amount of money, political power, or protection to ignore and assist with the Mafia's illegal drug trade. The result is a highly organized and well developed criminal organization that has both legitimate and illegitimate employees assisting to maintain productivity. No criminal organization operates the same making each unique. The document researched and discussed La Cosa Nostra, a New York Italian criminal organization known as the Mafia. A discussion of the group's national and multinational structure, and operation methods pertaining to the illegal drug business. In addition, a discussion of the Mafias relationship with past and current Prohibition, drug syndicates, political corruption, illicit activities, and various contemporary business interests were further presented. by: Steven Limbaugh References Mafia Today. (2010).

Mafia Structure and Definitions. Retrieved September 5, 2010, from University of Phoenix. (2010). Week four overview. Retrieved September 5, 2010, from University of Phoenix, Week Four, rEsource. CJA393-Interdisciplinary Capstone Course Website.

Question: What organisation is also known as La Cosa Nostra?
Answer: The Mafia